Lamp housing



Nov. 10, 1964 v. F. GRIFFIN LAMP HOUSING Filed March 12, 1962 Vern 3 United States Patent 3,156,416 LAMP HUUSING Vernon F. Griffin, Haies Corners, Wis, assignor to J. W. Speaker Corporation, Miiwaulree, Wis, a corporation of liiinois Filed Mar. 12, 1%2, Ser. No. 178,953 Claims. (Cl. 240-83) This invention relates to sockets for electric light bulbs, and refers more particularly to a lamp of fixture of simple and inexpensive construction having a novel light bulb socket therein and which is particularly well adapted for use with small light bulbs such as those used on motor vehicles.

It is a general object of this invention to provide a tail lamp or signal lamp for motor vehicles, trailers and the like which is very inexpensive, compact and durable, and which features a novel light bulb socket.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a lamp or light fixture of the character described which comprises a housing that cooperates with a lens to provide an enclosure for a light bulb socket, a bulb received therein, and electrical connections to the socket, and which also provides a reflector, and wherein the housing can be readily and inexpensively formed as a unitary molding of insulating plastic material and can have portions of the light bulb socket and its mounting formed integrally with it.

A further and more specific object of this invention is to provide a light bulb socket which is particularly suitable for small bulbs of the type used on motor vehicles, and which socket comprises a tubular receptacle that is open at both ends and a resiliently flexible insulating contact carrier which extends across one end of the receptacle and carries a contact that is engageable with a terminal on the lamp bulb base under a biasing force created by flexing the contact carrier away from the receptacle upon insertion of a bulb thereinto.

It is also: an object of this invention to provide a light bulb socket of the character described which comprises a pair of very simple stampings that cooperate with one another to define a tubular receptacle wherein the base of a lamp bulb is receivable, and which stampings are secured to bosses formed integrally with a base member that also has an integral contact carrier thereon that cooperates with the stampings in defining the lamp socket.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive light bulb socket of the character described which, despite its low cost, is nevertheless very sturdy, provides a good electrical connection with a light bulb received therein, and is unlikely to be rendered inoperative by any dirt or moisture that might enter it.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the hereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one complete example of the physical embodiment of the invention constructed according to the best mode so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and

in which: I 7

FIGURE 1 is a front perspective view of a lamp or I light fixture embodying the principles of this invention,

with certain parts shownin disassembled relation to the remainder of the lamp, andwith portions of said parts shown broken away;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken on the plane of the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the plane of the line 3-3 in FIGURE 2.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing, the numetal 5 designates generally a substantially cup-shaped housing which cooperates with a lens 6 to define an enclosure for a light bulb socket 7, a light bulb 8 received in the socket, and parts of conductors 9 that provide electrical connections to the socket.

The housing is preferably molded as a unit of a suitable resiliently flexible and electrically insulating plastic material such as that sold under the trademark Delrin, and it has a generally flat rear wall 10 and a substantially cylindrical forwardly extending side wall 11'. At its central portion the rear wall of the housing has a coaxial forwardly concave dished area 12 which serves as a reflector.

The front portion of the side wall has an abruptly enlarged diameter, as at 13, to provide a forwardly facing circumferential shoulder 14 against which the lens 6 seats. A gasket 15 is preferably interposed between the lens and the shoulder 14, and the lens can be held in place by a conventional wire snap ring 16 that seats in a radially inwardly opening circumferential groove 17 in the enlarged front portion of the side wall, in front of the lens. A radially outwardly projecting flange 18 around the rim of the housing provides for mounting the lamp in any desired manner.

The socket 7 comprises, in general, a pair of stampings 20 which cooperate to define a tubular receptacle 26 and which are supported by integral forwardly projecting bosses 21 on the rear wall of the housing, and a finger or contact carrier 22 which is also integral with the rear wall and extends forwardly therefrom across one end of the tubular receptacle.

Each of the stampings 2t? is bent from flat metal to provide a U-shaped medial portion 23 and a pair of coplanar lugs 24 which project laterally outwardly from the ends of the U-shaped portion. The stampings are secured to the bosses 21, as by means of screws 25 threaded into the bosses, with the lugs 24 of the two stampings fiatwise overlying one another and the front faces of the bosses, and with the U-shaped medial portions 23 of the stampings opposite and opening toward one another to define the tubular receptacle 26, which has its axis radial to the housing and which is located intermediate the dished central portion 12 of the housing and its side wall. As illustrated, the screws 25 can provide for the securement to the receptacle of one or more electrical conductors 9 which connect the receptacle to the grounded side of an electrical circuit that includes such conductors. The conductors can be brought into the housing through an aperture 23 in a recess 29 at the junction of its side and rear walls.

The U-shaped medial portions of the stampings can be formed with bayonet slot defining grooves 3%, as shown, or with suitable threads, to adapt the receptacle for receiving the base of a lamp bulb of whatever type it is intended for. Normally, of course, the side surface of a lamp bulb base 31 provides one of the terminals of the bulb, and hence engagement of the bulb in the the bottom of its base, and in the socket of this invention the finger or contact carrier 22 carries a contactor or contactors 32 which cooperate with such terminal or terminals. The finger 22 is preferably formed integrally with the rear wall in of the housing and projects forwardly therefrom between the receptacle 26 and the housing side wall. It intersects the receptacle axis and is substantiflly flat and normal to said axis so as to be a flexible toward and from the adjacent end of the receptacle.

Each of the contactors 32 is elongated and rivet like, and fits loosely in a hole in the contact carrier by which it is held substantially parallel to the receptacle axis. An enlarged head 33 on each contactor overlies the contact carrier at the side thereof that faces the receptacle 26 and prevents displacement of the contactor relative to the finger in a direction away from the receptacle.

At its end opposite the head 33 the contactor is connectable with a conductor 9' comprising a part of the energizing circuit for the bulb, and which can also serve to prevent displacement of the contactor out of the finger when there is no bulb in the receptacle. The head 33 of the contactor is adapted to engage a terminal on the bottom of the base of a bulb in the receptacle, to complete the circuit through the bulb, and such engagement is main ained under a biasing force which is provided by the resilient finger 22. To this end the finger is so located that when a light bulb is inserted into the receptacle it flexes the finger away from the adjacent end of the receptacle.

Attention is directed to the fact that the finger 22 does not close the end of the receptacle, and consequently moisture and dirt which may get into the receptacle can readily fall past the finger, or can be easily dislodged and pushed downwardly out of the receptacle past the finger.

From the foregoing description taken together with the accompanying drawing it will be apparent that this invention provides a very simple and inexpensive socket for an electric light bulb, but one which is nevertheless very dependable. It will also be apparent that the invention provides a simple and inexpensive lamp, having a housing in which a light bulb and its socket are enclosed, and wherein the socket comprises portions integral with the housing and a pair of simple stampings that are secured to the housing with screws or the like that can also provide for electrical connections to the socket.

What is claimed as my invention is:

1. A socket which provides for connection of an electric light bulb with a source of electric current, said socket comprising:

(A) a base member of insulating material having a front face;

(l3) means defining a tubular receptacle which is open at both ends and in which the base of a lamp bulb is receivable;

(C) means fixing said tubular receptacle to the base member, at the front thereof, with the axis of the receptacle substantially parallel to the front face of the base member;

(D) a contact carrier of resilient insulating material projecting forwardly from the base member across one end of the receptacle, said contact carrier being flexible in directions parallel to the socket axis toward and from the receptacle; and

(E) an elongated metal contact member endwise slidably received in a hole in the contact carrier and extending substantially parallel to the axis of the receptacle, said contact member being connectable with an electrical conductor and having an enlarged head at its end adjacent to the receptacle, by which the contact member is held against displacement relative to the contact carrier in a direction away from the receptacle, and which is engageable with a terminal on the base of a lamp bulb received in the receptacle under a biasing force due to flexing or" the contact carrier away from the receptacle upon insertion of the bulb thereinto.

2. The light bulb socket of claim 1, further characterized by:

(A) the fact that the receptacle comprises a pair of metal stampings, each having l (1) a U-shaped medial portion and (2) lugs projecting from the outer ends of said medial portion; and

(B) further by the fact that said means fixing the receptacle to the base comprises (1) a pair of spaced apart forwardly projecting bosses on the base, and

(2) means securing the lugs of the stampings to said bosses and disposing the stampings with their U-shaped medial portions opposite and opening toward one another so that said portions of the stampings cooperate to define a tube.

3. The socket of claim 1, further characterized by the fact that the base member and the contact carrier are integral with one another and are molded of resiliently flexible plastic material.

4. A fixture for an electric lamp bulb comprising:

(A) a substantially cup-shaped housing of resilient insulating material having (1) a rear wall, and (2) a circumferential side wall integral with the rear wall and extending forwardly therefrom;

(B) a pair of spaced apart bosses integral with the rear wall and extending forwardly therefrom at locations spaced inwardly of the side wall;

(C) a pair of metal socket defining members, each having (1) a medial U-shaped portion and (2) coplanar mounting lugs extending laterally outwardly from the ends of the U;

(D) means mounting said socket defining members on the bosses with the lugs of the two socket defining members fiatwise overlying one another and the front ends of the bosses, and with the U-shaped portions of the socket members opposing and opening toward one another so as to cooperate in defining a tubular lamp base receptacle that has its axis substantially parallel to the rear wall;

(E) a contact carrier projecting forwardly from the rear wall and extending across one end of the receptacle, said contact carrier being resiliently flexible toward and from the receptacle; and

(F) an elongated metal contactor received in a hole in said contact carrier and extending substantially parallel to the receptacle axis, said contactor being connectable with an electrical conductor and having an enlarged head which overlies the side of the contact carrier that faces the receptacle to preclude motion of the contactor relative to the contact carrier in a direction away from the receptacle so that the contactor can engage a terminal on the end of the base of a light bulb received in the receptacle under a biasing force produced by flexing of the contact carrier away from the receptacle.

5. The fixture of claim 4 wherein said socket defining members and contact carrier are spaced to one side of the central portion of the rear wall and are so disposed that the bulb of an electric lamp received in the receptacle is located in front of said central portion of the rear wall, further characterized by the fact that the central portion of the rear wall is forwardly concavely dished to provide a reflector.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,896,887 Falge et al Feb. 7, 1933 2,099,444 Langdon Nov. 16, 1937 2,127,675 Clements Aug. 23, 1938 2,308,100 Gnksen et al. Jan. 12, 1943 2,738,474 Stube Mar. 13, 1956 3,059,104 Dickson Oct. 16, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 980,103 France Dec. 20, 1950 

4. A FIXTURE FOR AN ELECTRIC LAMP BULB COMPRISING: (A) A SUBSTANTIALLY CUP-SHAPED HOUSING OF RESILIENT INSULATING MATERIAL HAVING (1) A REAR WALL, AND (2) A CIRCUMFERENTIAL SIDE WALL INTEGRAL WITH THE REAR WALL AND EXTENDING FORWARDLY THEREFROM; (B) A PAIR OF SPACED APART BOSSES INTEGRAL WITH THE REAR WALL AND EXTENDING FORWARDLY THEREFROM AT LOCATIONS SPACED INWARDLY OF THE SIDE WALL; (C) A PAIR OF METAL SOCKET DEFINING MEMBERS, EACH HAVING (1) A MEDIAL U-SHAPED PORTION AND (2) COPLANAR MOUNTING LUGS EXTENDING LATERALLY OUTWARDLY FROM THE ENDS OF THE U; (D) MEANS MOUNTING SAID SOCKET DEFINING MEMBERS ON THE BOSSES WITH THE LUGS OF THE TWO SOCKET DEFINING MEMBERS FLATWISE OVERLYING ONE ANOTHER AND THE FRONT ENDS OF THE BOSSES, AND WITH THE U-SHAPED PORTIONS OF THE SOCKET MEMBERS OPPOSING AND OPENING TOWARD ONE ANOTHER SO AS TO COOPERATE IN DEFINING A TUBULAR LAMP BASE RECEPTACLE THAT HAS ITS AXIS SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE REAR WALL; (E) A CONTACT CARRIER PROJECTING FORWARDLY FROM THE REAR WALL AND EXTENDING ACROSS ONE END OF THE RECEPTACLE, SAID CONTACT CARRIER BEING RESILIENTLY FLEXBLE TOWARD AND FROM THE RECEPTACLE; AND (F) AN ELONGATED METAL CONTACTOR RECEIVED IN A HOLE IN SAID CONTACT CARRIER AND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE RECEPTACLE AXIS, SAID CONTACTOR BEING CONNECTABLE WITH AN ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR AND HAVING AN ENLARGED HEAD WHICH OVERLIES THE SIDE OF THE CONTACT CARRIER THAT FACES THE RECEPTACLE TO PRECLUDE MOTION OF THE CONTACTOR RELATIVE TO THE CONTACT CARRIER IN A DIRECTION AWAY FROM THE RECEPTACLE SO THAT THE CONTACTOR CAN ENGAGE A TERMINAL ON THE END OF THE BASE OF A LIGHT BULB RECIEVED IN THE RECEPTACLE UNDER A BIASING FORCE PRODUCED BY FLEXING OF THE CONTACT CARRIER AWAY FROM THE RECEPTACLE. 